CANAKKALE

Back to the Gallipoli campaign,.......on the Turkish side a young officer named Mustafa Kemal rounded up troops,who had been concentrated elsewhere ( around the planned landing sites) and landed up becoming the hero of the battleg,initially stopping the ANZAC advance and eventually leading the entire campaign for 9 months when the allies eventually retreated and left the shores of Turkey after around 250 000 casualties on either side (500 000 in total )

A huge human cost for absolutely no gain!

Mustafa Kemal went on to become the most revered leader of Turkish society and was renamed ATATURK ( father of Turkey).He created a peaceful and secular Turkey.

He will be remembered in years to come as a legend of the Ottoman Empire,in similar fashion to legends of TROY situated just 40 km from this region .

This morning,in the town of CANAKKALE we came across a totally free,interactive display ( smack bang in the middle of the town) including large screen documentaries and personal accounts from troops of both sides which was pretty emotional.

I had ,on previous trips to turkey,not managed to get around to seeing Gallipoli,........boy am I glad I took the trouble! 😀👍

And the little port town of CANAKKALE is one of the nicest I've come across in Turkey😀